Thursday, March 29, 2012

No matter how many positive articles I write about Mercury
and Mars Retrograde [1], the pair have been murder on me. My Cardinal, hurry-up
Mars does not like this waiting around and uncertainty that’s thicker than thieves or thugs
blocking the doors. I feel like I’m in an invisible prison. It combines with
some other personal chart factors that have me banging on the bars of my
poky. I want out!

If you’re a kindred go-getter, you’ll probably be relieved when
Mercury goes Direct on April 4 and Mars on April 14. Back to what I said in the
Retrograde Rest Stop section of my latest
Mercury Retro article, this early year downtime is likely to be the calm before
the storm, the rest before the work, the boring days before life becomes the fulfillment
of the “Chinese curse,” living in interesting times. I like to think of the
times not as a curse but as a double-edged sword, combining challenge and
opportunity, a time that promises to keep me on my toes and grow me to my fullest possible height.

When I reacquainted myself with the Heinlein quote from Stranger in a Strange Land, a cult classic in the ‘60s and ‘70s, my curiosity was piqued by a discussion in one article about the
book. It focused on how waiting in
fullness is not procrastination. In fact, it’s the antithesis of putting
something off. It’s surrendering to the necessary, underlying development of
foundations for anything you’re building. You can’t push the flower to grow or
the egg to hatch. It seems more obvious when the example is a literal, natural
process, but when it comes to the birth of an idea or project, it’s easy to
lose sight of the fact that we can’t see everything yet. Decisions and
directions need to be based on sound infrastructure in order to succeed, just
as if you were building a highway or bridge.

For now, the work probably isn’t done in the invisible yet for
you to move forward on whatever you’ve been contemplating. We’ve only got a bit
to go before the pressure of waiting is off. My suggestion? Don’t leap, even
then, but initiate the test balloons and preparation for new projects,
practices, and important beginnings. Added to the retrograde mix and elongating
the process: Saturn, planet of structure and foundations, has been retrograde
since early February and does not go direct until June 25, 2012. In the sign of Libra, it has been asking us
to take others into consideration. In the three planets retro mix, it may be
asking us to wait till everyone’s on the same page before mixing the cement for
a new cornerstone.

Why, then, is waiting fullness?
Maybe the better analogy is eating, an activity where we know what full feels
like. In order for the idea or project to reach its full potential, we have to
feed it enough nutrients to build the bones and cartilage on which our skeletal
ideas will hang in the world and form enough flesh to be real.

Westerners are not very good at this sort of thing. That’s why
my best friend and both rankle when we’ve used the I Ching oracle. Its hexagrams
seem more like gobbledygook than wisdom to Marsy people. (She’s an Aries Sun.) The
Eastern perspective on life is much more astute about the need for waiting till
the time is right and yin and yang are balanced.

The Western Way
is the yang, male-energy path—the same one that often ends in destruction, the
path from which the adage was spawned, Fools
rush in.

Part of what makes waiting
in fullness even more ironic is that Valentine Michael Smith, the guru
character in Heinlein’s novel, is a Martian—literally a Man from Mars. I don’t
know what, if anything, Heinlein knew about astrology, but juxtaposition is a
great teacher. Another thought: In its day, Heinlein’s novel was futuristic. In
1961 when it was first released, people often thought of extraterrestrials as
coming from Mars. It was our concept of far out, of strange and exotic, maybe
even of the limits of the universe. Those limits have expanded as astronomical
discoveries have increased exponentially in recent years.

So now, as we broach the finish of the first pair of the
retrograde trio’s backward motion this year, focus especially Mars, your can-do
planet. Visit the limits of what your Mars moving backwards and inching toward
a halt can teach you, before you move forward in mid-April on your next courses
of action. Make them appetizers until Saturn can support your fuller meal of
new efforts in early summer.

If waiting is fullness, there’s a feast in store for us by
mid-year. The hunger for action may be just the appetite we need to whip up
for the bounty of juicy, summer fruits that really give us something to sink our teeth
into.

Monday, March 26, 2012

We all know the danger of the blind spot at the sides of our
car when we’re driving. It’s amazing how an entire vehicle can fit into this
small patch of our visual field that’s out of eye-shot of mirrors or craning neck—unless,
of course, you happen to be possessed like the girl in The Exorcist with her
360o head spin.

My most recent episode startled me into awareness of how
important it is to share your chart with trusted others. They might put you
onto a spot in your horoscope that you can’t see or conveniently ignore. Of
course, no surprise, mine has to do with Neptune.

It isn’t as if I didn’t know this particular Neptune aspect
was there; rather, I had stopped really seeing it or focusing on it. It reminds
me of those times you walk into a familiar room but suddenly notice a painting
or piece of furniture that has been there all along. It jumps out at you after
months or years of receding into the background.

My chart has a triple conjunction in Libra at the following
degrees: Venus (5), Neptune (10) and Mercury (17). My Moon is at 8 Capricorn. I
feel my natal Neptune-Moon square acutely, and I think that’s what makes me Neptunian—or at least, that’s what I talk
about.

But what about Venus conjunct Neptune? I certainly experienced Neptune
conjunct Venus full boar in my single days. I dated men that all seemed to
carry a trident dripping seaweed. Then there’s one Pisces ex-husband and the current one with his loaded
12th House and Neptune on the Ascendant.

It took the following to reawaken me to certain features of my natal Venus/
Neptune conjunction. The current Pluto-Uranus square, with T-Uranus opposed my
Venus, is forming a T-square to my Natal Moon conjunct Transiting Pluto. Yep, Venus/Neptune
is still there in living color. I guess it had blended into the wall. You know
how Venus and Neptune love art, especially in Libra! (My Venus conjunct Neptune
had become a mural.)

Venus rules love and money, and it’s my chart ruler (duh). When
the change-happy Pluto-Uranus square entered the picture to form that T-square
with my Venus, I was shocked into realizing how I’d been ignoring the money
part of my Venus. Venus conjunct Neptune was threatening
to crash, like a speeding vehicle in the blind spot beside my car. I was about to cut in front of it! I’ve been
fogged over about money before, as you can well imagine with that natal aspect.
But just as Neptune tends to make us feel that every new
love is like the very first time, to
quote a song made popular by Madonna (who has her own Radical Virgo chart features); so Neptune
can make us feel gaga about our delicious spending habits. We are happy to
metababble about prosperity consciousness without organizing or disciplining
ourselves to merge the law of attraction with the law of common sense and the
laws of the material world. (Now I'm hearing Material Girl. This post has a Madonna soundtrack!)

I’d love to hear from you. Is this only a Neptune
thing? Or do you have blind spots about other parts of your chart that have
come to light?

Now that the fog has lifted, I’m reading The Energy of Moneyby Maria Nemeth,
and I’m reorganizing my finances in a major way before someone has to call the
paramedics. One can only hope with Uranus involved that the shake-up is only a
fender bender instead of fatal accident. A friend told me recently that she
didn’t see Transiting Uranus coming to a significant point in her chart,
either. I have to wonder if some of this “forgetting” isn’t a defense
mechanism. It’s really difficult to deal with too much at once. Even when
driving, if we couldn’t let some of the traffic sounds and potential dangers
fade into the background, we’d be too nervous to drive safely—a danger to ourselves
and others when we’re behind the wheel.

If this share gets you thinking and helps bring to light
some part of your chart that needs routine maintenance, consider it an
astrological defensive driving course. During this combo of Mercury and Mars
retrograde, it’s the perfect time to review how we’re driving our planetary
energies and what mental patterns—including denial and distraction—are
providing the potholes, obstructions and potential accidents on the road ahead.

Fasten your seat belts and adjust your mirrors! And do share,
if you have other examples of missing what’s going on with your fifth “wheel,”
your astrology chart.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

A Dedication and Naming Ceremony for
Your New Births

Spring is the time of new beginnings—or rebirth. When babies
are born, in the Christian tradition, they are baptized or christened. This
confers both the gift and symbolism of the child’s name but also brings him or
her into the community of those who care, implying that you and yours have a
back-up support system. Whether it’s a new pet, a new relationship, or a new
project, you can do the same for your particular new rebirths this spring. I
did this ceremony in 1995 when I brought my kittens Duffy and Darrin into my
family. The ritual can be applied to anything, including a new attitude! Here’s
how to do it.

The Naming

Naming is serious business, for the name of any being or
idea carries the resonance of your intention. Especially when naming human
beings or pets, be sure you know the background or any mythology connected with
the proposed name. Projects and new attitudes work best with an upbeat name
that reflects the positive outcome you seek. For instance, keeping your house
more tidy for better feng shui or energy flow might be called Home Energy Flow
rather than reiterating the bad habit with a title like Clutter Busting. You
could call an effort to see things more from the upside Operation Optimism.

The Dedication Ceremony

Gather at least two friends or family members who represent
your support system. The more the merrier, and this is a perfect ceremony to do
in a group during a Spring Equinox celebration. If you are dedicating a pet,
bring it with you. I suspect most people would dedicate their children at a
separate family gathering, but we have dedicated children in our Solsisters
group in addition to their baptism or other traditions.

Create an altar, and place some objects on it that symbolize
spring, rebirth and new beginnings: wildflowers, Easter eggs, plant bulbs, and
a candle to represent the Aries fire and the new beginnings we celebrate at
this threshold.

Each individual comes forward with a symbol of their new
birth or new beginning. If it’s a child being dedicated, you might use a bonnet
or bootie--for an animal, a collar or favorite toy. For a project, you can
become much more creative. For my new book, I’ll bring a printout of the cover
concept or a bound copy of the manuscript. The individual launching
Operation Optimism could bring a picture of a happy individual—best, one of her
smiling.

As each person comes up to the altar, s/he faces the
gathering, lifts up the actual being s/he is dedicating, if a child or pet.
Bring the symbol, if it’s anything else, or if it’s impractical to bring the
real thing. S/he says:

“Behold, ______ (name of new birth)!” Now say a few words
about your “baby,” whatever it is, and what this new beginning means to you.

Bring the child, pet, or symbol back down from an elevated
position. Share your promises and commitments—to love and support him, her or
it. Ask your circle, “Will you help me grow and support me in this new
beginning?”

The circle responds, “We will!”

Onto the next person.

Darrin & Duffy

Of course, the words can be altered and the ceremony
stylized to suit your needs. I’ll never forget the teary moment when I held up
the first of my kittens and declared, just like his parents did for Kunta Kinte
in Roots, “Behold, Duffy Kyle!” That
moment symbolized my commitment to a companion who has owned my heart for
sixteen years. The community of my friends has supported me me during every
challenge and loss with the Tabby Brothers, especially when Duffy’s littermate
Darrin (the redhead) died of cancer at age 12. Darrin will always own major
real estate in my heart, where he lives forever. The depth of our bonding no
doubt had something to do with the ceremony and seriousness of my promises to be
there for him always. I still am, even if one of us is no longer in a body.

While Spring Equinox holds the ultimate timing for new beginnings and rebirths, doing this ceremony any time during spring is still very potent. You can also convene a Dedication and Naming Ceremony at any time, for the beginning of anything new is like its own spring.

Blessings on all your new births! And thank the universe for
the birth-death-rebirth cycle that is the Circle of Life.

Happy Birthday, Radical Virgo Blog! On March 21, The Radical Virgo turns three years old.
What an odyssey. Love and thanks for your part in making it so!

The Cardinal Quarterly
is about to arrive! If you aren’t on my newsletter email list, don’t miss this quarter’s
inside scoop and a brand new article on Chiron, a preview from my forthcoming
book, Keywords for Unlocking Chiron.
It’s on one of my favorite Chironic concepts, making lemonade out of lemons.
This preview is exclusive to the mailing list. Sign up at the top of the
sidebar, if you’re not already a subscriber.

Monday, March 5, 2012

In the classic poem and children’s story, The Night Before Christmas, excited little
ones anticipate Santa’s morning arrival and dream of sweet things that dance in
their heads as they sleep. What a Neptune in Pisces, kids in the candy store vision!

Neptune re-entered Pisces, after a retrograde
dip back into Aquarius, on February 3,
2012. Neptune will remain “in its own sign”
until January 2026. It’s the perfect time to let sweet things dance in our
heads, whether our dreams are the sleeping or waking variety.

This post is for the purpose of
sharing my visions about astrology—and asking you to share yours. How would
astrology look in the best possible world?

Neptune in Pisces is a time when visions,
too, are in their own sign, when what we
see is whatwe get. If we work
that idea to its highest potential, we can visualize and create positive
changes in the best possible way. If our manifestations are truly an
outcropping of the seed thoughts we plant, this is the time to think big,
beautiful things—things that join us and nurture our functioning as the whole
organism of humanity.

Imagination is a beautiful thing. When imaginations are
joined for good, anything is possible. Please jump into the Comments and
respond to my visions and share yours!

Precise Birth Times

In my dream world, nations pass laws that require accurate
recording of birth times. This precise record keeping is done out of respect
for the beliefs and spiritual perspectives of families and covers the infant,
too, in case he or she comes to hold a belief in astrology in the future. (Birth
is a one-shot deal in any life time. You’ve got to plan ahead to anticipate
needs.) Birth times are recorded by a standard, agreed-upon protocol about what
constitutes the first moment of life. Birth times are part of the public
record, easily accessible according to the same rules of release for any vital
statistical document.

Overcoming the Astrological Language Barrier

Astrologers are taught early in their studies to speak about
astrology with non-astrologers in a way that allows people new to the subject
to understand them, even if they have never taken a single astrology class. With
this language bridge, more people will walk across it to see what astrology is
all about. Simple language would go hand-in-hand with teaching astrology with
crystal clarity. In my world, initial studies would be so basic yet colorfully
presented, any child could grasp them with
ease. Astrology teachers would add to those building blocks, bit by bit, toward
helping their students understand more complex concepts. To achieve this, teachers
could look to models of children’s books and exhibitions on science and other
complex topics, to see how it’s already done. The model of
building on simplicity toward understanding increasingly complex ideas is necessary
in any multifaceted topic, especially one that has a language all its own.

The engine of this effort to mainstream astrology is
the idea that astrology is only as helpful as it is accessible. I see a new era
of demystifying the science and art of the stars. The best teachers—and there
are many of them!—know how to build on simple principles, so that by the time a
student is intermediate in his or her studies, concepts previously thought to
be complicated nearly grasp themselves.

Astrology Starts in Middle or High School

In my Neptune in Pisces vision, astrology
is taught in tandem with astronomy. Students can take one, both, or an
integrated track. When I was in college—and this could certainly apply to
middle or high school—there was an option called Combined Studies. CS offered broad
areas of study, rather than limited subjects. Looking back, the brainiest
students seemed to go for it. That should have told me something! With the
option of making astrology a part of other educational tracks, rather than
teaching it only as a stand-alone, more access and subject integration would
result.

Students who don’t hold astrological beliefs are exempt from
astrology classes; however, Astrology 101 and Astronomy 101 would be
recommended together as a first course in star studies, especially since
astrology preceded astronomy and is important from a historical perspective in
the development of astronomy. Once exposed to it, some “pure scientists” might
be surprised at what they discover about astrology’s potentials and astrology
students would be grounded in the science portion of the art/science of
astrology.

Higher Education

In my new astro-world, there are many astrological colleges
and certification programs available and accessible worldwide, along with government-approved
programs for easy financing via scholarships and student loans. Astrology is
treated just like any other subject in this regard. As with my suggestion for
middle and high school above, courses would be offered in tandem with
astronomy, social studies, history and any other curricula that place astrology
in the context of the areas it affects—all of life.

ZNN: Zodiac Nonstop Network

This is my “coop de hoop,” as my ex-husband used to say. I
think that was his pidgin play on coup de
grace, a French way of saying the finishing blow or touch—or an idea that knocks
me out, in this case. I have had conversations on Facebook in astrology groups about
it, and I think its time has come—far fetched as it may sound at first.

My concept of ZNN is a cable network with 24/7 programming
from an astrological perspective. Newscasters would tell the news with current
transits in mind, and the day’s planetary positions and movements would run on
a ticker like the stock market fluctuations on the bottom of the screen. News magazine features
would include a look at the chart of major characters in the headlines, and
these “specials” would heat up during significant events, such as elections, to
speculate on the leadership style of the nominees and their chances of winning.

Sitcoms and dramas would have characters that play on their
astrological make-up. Classic shows could be rerun as astrological cinema
lessons. Example of TV Guide type blurb usingI Love Lucy: Pisces musician Ricky Ricardo loses his cool and beat
when his spotlight-loving Leo wife causes chaos, posing as a dancer in his
show.

Travel features could include the astrological charts of
countries and what each nation's horoscope suggests about individual compatibility for tourists. The
ZNN travel team would have an Astro*Carto*Graphy expert on staff who gives
shows, periodically, that are a live reading, demonstrating how this tool can
be used to plan travel and major geographical moves.

Gemini: Yakity Yak

My favorite aspect of this astro-cable TV network would be
its educational potentials. While the parallel of this part of the programming
is obvious with PBS, the American Public Broadcasting System, I see ZNN as
being even broader, yet starting with teaching astrology to young children.

Similar to the Muppets, I have an idea for 12 puppets called
the Zodi-Yaks. Yaks are furry, horned bovine critters that would make adorable
archetypes for the 12 signs. Technically, yak refers to the male. The female
being called a dri or nak. In English, and in most other
languages, "yak" is commonly used for both sexes. So, the horns can be
removed for the girl yaks. [1]

I’m already naming them, but this is still in pencil:

Meet the Zodi-Yaks

Aries – Flash

Taurus – Luxury (Luxy for short)

Gemini – Yakity
(I know Yakity Yak is redundant, but what
else?)

Cancer – Moody

Leo – Starr

Virgo – Picky

Libra - Lovey

Scorpio – Vavavoom (Vava for short)

Sag – Blurt

Capricorn – Briefcase

Aquarius - Rarie

Pisces – Dreamy

How Do We Make This Dream Come True?

We keep talking about it, build on it, and count on the astrological
grapevine and six degrees of separation to bring us the resources to turn these
concepts into reality. Someone knows somebody who’s in television, education or
a cousin twice removed of the late, great Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets—or
Jeff Dunham’s dummy maker. Maybe we even
form a committee.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. ~ Margaret Mead

We might have to start with a track of programming on an existing network
before creating one dedicated exclusively to astrology. I could see the
Zodi-Yaks on public TV and an astro news segment on any major news network,
except for perhaps the most ultra conservative.

Miti Manifesto. Miti
(Mee Tee) is a nickname my birth mom had for me, short for my original name,
Maria Teresa. When we were reunited after 38 years of separation, Helen and I
discovered we were both very metaphysical. She felt I was an amazing manifester.
(The story of how I found her is so synchronistic, you’d think I made it up.) Thus,
she rechristened me Miti Manifesto. Another one of my friends says I have
“magic dust.”

It’s true; I do know something about the law of attraction,
but it’s universal law combined with a
small group of committed citizens that changes the world. Those world-changing groups
and committees often start with just one person. Here comes an example.

Call Me Lazarus. One of my favorite manifestation stories,
besides finding my assorted lost loves, was raising our local astrology group
from the dead. I’m a Virgo; so, naturally, I don’t mean for this to be a brag.
It’s evidence of how one committed person with a strong Mars can decide to do
something and, through the law of attraction, magnetize those other committed
citizens to make it so.

I made it so in less than a month. I’m sure I’ve mentioned
parts of this story before, so mea
redundo, if it’s a repeat for you. It’s such a classic example, it’s worth retelling
to those who have heard it before and worth introducing to those who haven’t.

In 2010, I went to two Rick Tarnas events at NCGR-San Francisco on September 15 and 18.
San Francisco is 125 miles one-way
from where I live in the suburbs of Sacramento.
The first event was a Wednesday night lecture; the other a Saturday workshop.
By the second event, as much as I love Rick’s presentations, I started adding
up the fees, food, tolls, and parking charges. I said to myself, “This is
ridiculous. There have to be enough people to resurrect the old astrology group
in Sacramento. I’m not doing this
anymore—or at least not often.” The Sacramento chapter of NCGR had been “dead” for
nearly a decade.

By October 17, I had managed to “herd cats,” as many people
joke about how hard it is to get astrologers on the same page or in the same
room. Thirty people met at a local metaphysical store, our first “resurrection”
meeting. I contacted dozens of people, activated the grapevine, and the game
was afoot. From the beginning, all I did was plug into the longing for
astrological community that already existed. It existed acutely because people had
been starved for it for nearly a decade. From there, it took off like wildfire.
After a few organizational get-togethers, we started planning speakers and had
a full program for 2011 in no time flat. At Spring Equinox, March 21, 2011, we recharted with NCGR and the Sacramento Area Chapter was reborn.
What a Plutonian story!

I managed to attract the best leadership team in the galaxy,
and while they give me more credit than I probably deserve for my
organizational and professional skills, it just took one person—me—to get it
going. Sure, I’m astro qualified for the job. The strong Mars and being a
Triple Earth help a lot. (Several of the team members thought about it for
years, but say they don’t have enough Earth and couldn’t get from idea to
action.) But I’m not the only person on the planet with skills and
astro-compatibility for organizing big projects.

How about you? I’m not sure I’ve got enough juice and magic
dust left in my wand to pull an astro-TV network out of a hat, but if I
could attract the right committed team …

… like a lot of people of a certain age, I’ve learned by
experience never to say never.

If you’ve read the original article on which this blog is
based, The
Radical Virgo, you’ll note it contains a call to action. Could these
dreams—and yours—possibly be one of the reasons we’ve been meeting like this on
The Radical Virgo blog?

Congratulations to
Mads Elung-Jensen of Berlin, Germany,
winner of the Valentine’s
month Comment Contest on The Radical Virgo. Mads is a regular reader and
frequent commenter. Even though the actual drawing is done by my husband Tim,
who isn’t into astrology and knows none of the people on those slips of paper,
I’m sure the fact that Mads commented in a limerick somehow made his name
magnetize to Tim’s fingertips. Mads won a free mini-reading with me by
email. Thanks to all who participated! ~ Joyce

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Joyce Mason has Sun in the last degree of Virgo, three planets in Libra, Taurus Rising and a Capricorn Moon. She's a "PUNC," or a person with a prominence of the outer planets Pluto, Uranus, Neptune--add bridging and healing Chiron. (See her Outerplanetary People series for more on PUNCs.) Joyce is often mistaken for an Aquarius/ Sagittarius blend. Even if you don’t speak astrology, that makes sense on some symbolic level because they both end in “ius.” She believes that I and Us are one in the same—and celebrates the human spirit in which we’re all joined.

First and foremost a writer, Joyce was a consulting astrologer, tarot reader, dreamworker, and flower essence practitioner for 25 years. Her astrological specialties are the sign of Virgo and the centaur planet, Chiron. She writes on these and many other topics. Read her complete bio and astrology articles on her Writer Joyce Mason website.

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